Events are proving that U.S. President Donald J. Trump was right about migrants. Unfortunately Trump’s behavior and reputation might make the migrant problem a lot harder to solve.
The dilemma is that far more migrants than anybody can accommodate are pouring into some countries including Canada. A flood of illegal immigrants from Latin America and Haiti is pouring into Canada, Reuters reported. That necessitated the building of tent cities in Quebec. Others are being housed in the Olympic stadium in Montreal.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau; who had formerly been an outspoken advocate of refugee acceptance, is now taking a tough line on immigration. Trudeau is apparently responding to polls that show around half of Canadians want illegal immigrants deported.
Details of Trudeau’s clampdown are not available but he apparently plans to start enforcing immigration laws and requiring work permits for all migrants. The Canadian government is also sending out warnings that illegal immigrants will be deported. Although no evidence of deportation has appeared in the news.
Was Trump Right about Immigration?
The situation in Canada shows that Trump might be right about refugees. Unfortunately Trump’s recent behavior, especially his simple-minded apology for Neo Nazi protesters, might make it impossible for politicians like Trudeau to deal with the situation.
No politician wants to touch the refugee problem out of fear of being labeled a racist. Yet the problem has to be dealt with because it is escalating into a humanitarian crisis particularly in Europe.
Fortunately the Western Hemisphere has not seen the massive numbers of refugee boats on the seas that have led to mass drownings in the Mediterranean. Although that might change if civil war breaks out in Venezuela, or the food crisis gets worse in that nation.
This makes a Trump style crackdown a possible solution but it simply passes the problem onto another nation. A related problem is that Trump’s pandering to racists and right-wing extremists makes it difficult for other political figures to take an aggressive stand on the issue. After all who wants to be associated with racist thugs?
Pandering to extreme nationalists also makes the only real answers to the refugee problem; coordinated international action, difficult to implement. One way nationalists do this is by hobbling international institutions such as the United Nations.
Why the Migrant Problem will not be Solved
The UN might be able to alleviate the refugee by building camps or implementing settlements in troubled nations. Unfortunately politicians like Trump are afraid to work with it because of supporters who buy into the fantasy that the United Nations (and all international cooperation) is a threat to national sovereignty.
Yet Trump himself is not the real instigator of the crisis. Instead it is those who encourage unlimited immigration without understanding its consequences.
The real cause of this crisis is all the respectable political leaders that refused to talk about immigration or deal with it out of being called racists. That left the issue to demagogues like Trump; who make it even harder for mainstream politicians to discuss the problem, because they fear being associated with Trump.
Under these circumstances no solution to the refugee problem might be possible until Donald J. Trump is gone from the scene. Even then it will be difficult to deal with migrants because nobody wants to talk about this problem except the bigots.
